For Starters: What IS a Conservation Easement?
05.14.09 9:12 AMA conservation easement:
- Is a written agreement that protects land in perpetuity.
- Is an agreement between a landowner and the “holder” of the easement, which is a nonprofit organization whose primary purpose is to preserve open space and its natural resources and habitats.
- Almost always extinguishes the ability of the landowner to develop the property; however, the landowner may retain the ability to build certain structures, so long as those structures are specified in the easement.
- Is considered a gift for federal income tax purposes.
- Is not a sale of the property, but is like any other easement in that it burdens the land and will continue to do so even though the landowner may deed the property to someone else and that person may deed the land to another and so on.
- Does not have to grant members of the public physical access to the land. The holder and Tennessee law both expect that, in most cases, the public benefit will extend only to the public’s ability to view the property from a public roadway and to the benefit the public receives from the preservation of plant and wildlife habitats.
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